Oreochromis macrochir (Boulenger, 1912)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Oreochromis macrochir (longfin tilapia, greenhead tilapia, or greenhead bream) is a species of cichlid native to the Zambezi Basin, Lake Mweru, and Lake Bangweulu. It has been used extensively for stocking ponds and dams in other parts of southern Africa, but is little-used elsewhere. In Lake Mweru, it is economically the most important fish. The fish was introduced into Lake Alaotra in Madagascar in 1954, and proliferated quickly. By 1957, it provided 46% of the catch, perhaps because it was moving into an empty ecological niche as a phytophagous species.
This species reaches a maximum length of 43 cm (17 in). It lives in fresh water at a depth of 5 to 14 m (16 to 46 ft) in tropical climates with average temperatures between 18 and 35 °C (64 and 95 °F).
Wikipedia contributors, Oreochromis macrochir; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T23:26:27.220863+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Oreochromis macrochir (Boulenger, 1912)
- Name authority
- (Boulenger, 1912)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Cichliformes
- Family
- Cichlidae
- Genus
- Oreochromis
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCichliformes
- familyCichlidae Bonaparte, 1835
- subfamilyPseudocrenilabrinae Fowler, 1934
- genusOreochromis Günther, 1889
- speciesOreochromis macrochir (Boulenger, 1912)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Oreochromis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Oreochromis korogwe (Lowe, 1955) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oreochromis esculentus (Graham, 1928) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oreochromis grahami (Boulenger, 1912) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oreochromis shiranus Boulenger, 1897 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mozambique tilapiaOreochromis mossambicus (Peters, 1852) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oreochromis amphimelas (Hilgendorf, 1905) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oreochromis leucostictus (Trewavas, 1933) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oreochromis ismailiaensis Mekkawy, 1995 | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| blue tilapiaOreochromis aureus (Steindachner, 1864) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oreochromis jipe (Lowe, 1955) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oreochromis upembae (Thys van den Audenaerde, 1964) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Oreochromis cancellatus (Nichols, 1923) | CichlidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=298252 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:7553F. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.